We are currently putting together our clothing order for next season and we need to start getting a count of what people what. We are going with VOMax again this and they’ll be outfitting us with all of their top of the line stuff. Alumni, parents, and others in the community are encouraged to join in! Here is what is available for order:

Jersey S/S Race Cut

Bib Shorts

Downhill Jersey 3/4 Sleeve

Winter Jacket

Skinsuit S/S

Skinsuit L/S Thermal

Let me know ASAP what you’d like plus what sizes by emailing me at mwmacleo@student.umass.edu. The plan is to collect orders and money from people over the next month or two, and place the order before winter break so we have them by the start of next semester!

The Fall 2011 Semester started last week and so UMBRC is once again in session. For those of you new to the club, this is our club blog. We post the most up-to-date news here, as well some random things from time to time (Joe Weiss, where you at lately?).

Mountain season is already underway (so soon!) with the team representing super well at Highland last weekend. We got a few new faces with great results so the rest of the season should be quite exciting.

On April 30th, UMBRC hosted its annual Orchard Assault Mountain Bike race held right on the UMass campus. The event is the club’s biggest fundraiser, and thanks to the support of all our sponsors, volunteers, and racers, the event was a great success this year. The results can be found on our main webpage, www.umbrc.com or by clicking here. Hope to see all you racers next year!

I know, I know. For the past couple of weekends our faithful blog followers were saddened by the absence of our race reports. My apologies. So here is how our trip to New Haven, CT went down. Saturday’s early morning time trial was quite hilly, and did not suit any UMass participants particularly. Almost all of the team finished in the top half of their respective fields though.

Next up was the Circuit Race, which featured the most climbing of any ECCC race yet. In Men’s D, Andrew Wilkens finished a strong 16th. The rest of the team however was plagued by bad luck. In Men’s C, Alex Carmona was unfortunately caught in a crash on the sketchy descent portion of the course. Despite his major road rash, he still was able to finish the race. In Men’s B, James Peterson was off the front of the field during the descent portion, but slide out on a sandy turn and pulled out of the race. I too was having a good race in Men’s B until my rear tire flatted on a monster pothole, ending my race.

Although sad and angry after Saturday’s results, the team entered Sunday’s Crit with optimism. In Men’s D, Andrew Faughnan raced very well and got 4th in a prime sprint and 4th in the final sprint. In Men’s B, James Peterson attacked the field going into a prime sprint lap and got 5th for the sprint. In the final sprint, James placed 15th and scored some individual points. As for me in Men’s B, bad luck struck again when I flatted on the very first lap. But after running back to the pit I got a wheel change courtesy of Andrew Faughnan and managed to get back into the race.

Although the weekend didn’t go as planned for many members, we all still had a great time and look forward to Dartmouth next week.

Last but not least, special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Weiss for their kind hospitality and Friday night dinner. Greatly appreciated!

I’m working on getting some team t-shirts designed, since people everywhere are dying to rep UMBRC. Depending on how many people are interested, we can get a pretty good deal them. Members, Alumni, and anyone else in the world, if you’d like to showcase one of the coolest clubs around email me at mwmacleo@student.umass.edu. More details to follow once we learn how much to order.

Today was the first skills clinic of the semester hosted by Coach Al and what a great turnout we had. So many people showed up it was crazy. I hope even more people show up next time. We worked mainly on high speed turning, which is an essential skill for Crit racing. Despite a few people getting flats along the way (puddles are deceiving, they may hide tire-biting potholes) we all had a jolly time and picked up multiple tips. If you couldn’t make it today, don’t worry because we’ll have plenty more clinics to come. -M & M